kabluey Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Fan Rant: No One Can Hear You Screen
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Distribution », The Weinstein Co. », Fan Rant »
"If a film fell in the multiplex, and no one was there to see it..."
Limited release: such a simple phrase, and yet two words that all but indicate to a majority of moviegoers that whatever it is they want to see may or may not escape the confines of a NY/LA run before the film in question comes to them by way of Netflix mere months later.
Meanwhile, screens upon screens across the nation are filled by the likes of the same stars and the same stories, with the same special effects and the same happy endings, leaving the smaller films, the different films, the better films to slip through the distribution cracks, as it were.
Among their number falls The Promotion, a film which we've admittedly supported ad nauseum to the oh-so-ironic tune of $365,928 on a grand total of 81 screens. It opened just this past weekend in my market, Orlando, Fla., on a single screen, for a whopping four days, with a grand total of eight showings, before being shuffled off to make room for that other Jason Bateman co-starring comedy-drama hybrid.
It was the first day of July, and the last night for the film. Having enjoyed it twice before and driven by - I don't know - a sense of romantic futility, I turned out for that final showing. Lo and behold, I wasn't alone...
Trailer Park: War is Hell
Filed under: Comedy », Documentary », Drama », Independent », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Trailer Trash », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels », Religious », War », Trailers and Clips »
There have been war movies pretty much for as long as there have been movies. If and when we finally get to see Tarantino's long-promised Inglorious Bastards, and if it proves to be a hit, I'm betting we see a surge of war flicks. For now, though, we've got five trailers for war-related movies, starting with...
Punisher: War Zone
Between Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, Marvel properties are pretty hot these days, but I just don't see this one coming anywhere near that kind of success. Much like Batman, The Punisher started his career driven by vengeance, but instead of fighting crime with his fists, he selected the admittedly more practical weapon: guns, lots and lots of guns. Thomas Jane chose not to return for this sequel and this time we have Ray Stevenson wearing the skull emblem and firing the automatic weapons. His delivery is particularly stump-like, but there's only so much that can be done with lines like "sometimes I'd like to get my hands on God." I've never liked the comic book and I haven't seen any of the other Punisher movies, so maybe fans of the character will find this more interesting.
Miracle at St. Anna
This new one from Spike Lee should be worth waiting for. In 1983, a postal employee named Hector Negron gives a customer a look of recognition before shooting him in cold blood. Police find an ancient Italian artifact worth $5 million in Negron's apartment as well as a purple heart from World War II. The details are told in flashback as we see him and several other black American soldiers in 1944 trapped behind enemy lines in Italy. This is based on a novel by James McBride and it opens on September 26. Here's Christopher's take.
Oxford Film Fest: Movies and Panels and Parties, Oh My
Filed under: Independent », Awards », Festival Reports », Cinematical Indie », Oxford Film Festival »
Eric Snider and I spent this past weekend in lovely Oxford, Mississippi with our friend Jen Yamato from Rotten Tomatoes, where the three of us participated in a panel on Film and New Media for the Oxford Film Festival. I also served on the documentary features jury for the fest. Scott Weinberg was supposed to have been here with me and Jen, but a serious tooth issue kept him home in Philly. Scott still pulled duty on the dramatic features jury for the fest, and Eric very kindly dropped things on a moment's notice the other day to fly to Oxford in Scott's stead. The three of us had an absolute blast in Oxford. I love these small town film festivals ... everyone is so nice, the pace is laid-back and mellow -- a nice change coming off the craziness of Sundance. We got into Memphis on Thursday, and Jen and I had some yummy BBQ at Corky's -- Memphis-style "dry" ribs and brisket that was to die for. Mmmm. After Eric got in, we drove the hour or so trip to Oxford.
LAFF Review: Kabluey
Filed under: Comedy », Independent », Theatrical Reviews », Other Festivals », Cinematical Indie »
When I first met director Scott Prendergast, he had just crammed a huge gumball into his mouth, and was struggling to speak and couldn't touch anything, due to the fact that he had sticky gumball residue all over his hands. He gave the universally renown sign for "Uhhh, I need one second" and went to the bathroom to wash his hands and masticate that gum a bit more.
Once he was back, with clean hands and a jaw working like a well-oiled piston, we talked about his film Kabluey, which I had just seen. The film is set in Austin, although according to Prendergast that's only because the Texas Film Commission had a pretty lucrative "shoot your film here!" program that he took advantage of, and the setting in Kabluey is meant to be Anytown, U.S.A. We'll have an interview with Prendergast soon, and I'll let him wax poetic about making the film then. For now, I'll let you know what I thought about it, and how it made me want to go out and get a big blue costume as well.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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